Cooper began his opening commentary by saying, “I rarely respond to online conspiracy theorists or cable news cranks looking to get into a mutually beneficial beef that will boost their ratings. I try not to argue other TV anchors, and I usually let conspiracy theorists go unanswered. For years, Alex Jones claimed that I didn’t go to Sandy Hook after the shootings there and claimed an interview I did a grieving mother was instead done in front of a green screen in a studio somewhere with a crisis actor.”

The news anchor noted he never understood the logic of the conspiracy theory.

He explained that he spends hours weekly flying all over the world to cover stories and asked why he wouldn’t drive just a few hours to go to Connecticut to cover the murders of children.

“Recently, I saw another online conspiracy theorist claim that the little boy I helped in Haiti who had been struck in the head a piece of concrete by a mob was actually a little child I was using a human shield to protect myself,” Cooper said. “I really don’t even know what to say to that ridiculous idea.”

This weekend, however, President Donald Trump’s son, who Cooper called “Donny Jr.” tweeted a photo of Cooper waist-high in flood waters while his camera crew stood on top of things a few feet away.

“He claimed it was me faking the depth of floodwaters to somehow harm his father,” Cooper said. “A guy named Gavin J. Smith, who I’ve never heard of, tweeted, ‘Absolutely disgraceful, apparently Hurricane Florence wasn’t devastating enough for CNN’s Anderson Cooper, so he had to exaggerate for his live shot. Fake news at its finest.’ The picture popped up in various memes alleging fake news.”

Another person made a homophobic joke that Cooper was on his knees in the water. Cooper sarcastically called it “very classy.”

“Anyway, I’ve covered hurricanes for about 14 years and it really does make me sad to think that anyone would believe that I would try to fake something or overly dramatize a disaster,” the host said. “I debated whether I should even respond to the president’s son. I know he believes himself to be an outdoorsman and likes to go to Africa and kill animals, but I don’t know if he’s ever been to a flood. I didn’t see him down in North Carolina in the last few days, but I’m sure he was doing something important besides just tweeting lies.”